


Grazed

by wrackwonder



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 18:51:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7185890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrackwonder/pseuds/wrackwonder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Self-pity is not attractive, but Waverly can't help it. Continuation of Episode 11.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grazed

It was easy to give into self-pity. Try as she might, Waverly couldn’t help but feel sorry for herself as she sat alone on a hospital gurney. Dolls had insisted she go to the hospital and Wynonna had agreed before disappearing again to find Willa. Willa who had almost rolled her eyes at the sight of Waverly’s wound. Willa who seemed to have cast some spell over Wynonna.

 

Still, self-pity was not attractive. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself as she fought tears and angrily wiped at her nose. She was waiting for a nurse to give her the all clear and then she was going to go…somewhere? She didn’t know. There was nowhere to go. Which made her chin wobble and her eyes fill and, _damn it_ , self-pity was gross.

 

There was some sort of commotion outside, Waverly could just make out approaching voices behind the curtain, and then suddenly, the curtain was pulled back and a rather frazzled looking Nicole Haught was staring at her, an out-of-breath nurse at her side.

 

“Waverly?” the officer asked. She was wearing jeans, but the dark dress shirt that was part of her uniform appeared to be half tossed on. Untucked. Semi-unbuttoned. As wild as her red hair that was wavy and free around her shoulders.

 

“Um, hi?” Waverly found herself saying back through a smile. Nicole was in her space then, hands fluttering around Waverly’s face and her shoulders, as if she was afraid to set them down, as if any pressure would hurt. It was adorable and sweet and Waverly felt happiness for the first time since Willa crawled out of the woods.

 

“You got shot? And the Homestead? What happened? Why didn’t you call the police?” Nicole’s eyes were so wide and she was so worried and Waverly was slightly lost in how cute she looked, all dishevelled and winded and scared.

 

“Grazed,” Waverly corrected and that’s when the nurse stepped in, shooting both women a confused and slightly disapproving look.

 

“Keep it dry. Change the bandage,” she huffed before turning around and walking away, mumbling something that sounded like “Earps” as she disappeared down the hall.

 

Alone, Nicole cradled Waverly’s face in her hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

 

“I’m fine, Nicole, honestly.” Waverly wanted to sound brave, but her voice was shaky, and Nicole smelled so good standing so close.

 

“You got shot. How could you be fine?”

 

Wrapping her arms around the body in front of her, Waverly pressed herself into Nicole’s chest, breathing her in, brushing her nose against the exposed skin near Nicole’s throat.

 

“It was really, really scary and I thought I was going to die and I got to play with my shotgun, so that was great, but I think I’m losing Wynonna.” Wavery sniffled loudly, and Nicole quickly sat down next to her. She let Waverly tuck her face into her neck, and then the officer’s arms were holding Waverly near and they just sat like that, quietly, as Waverly cried and Nicole make small noises of reassurance. Nicole’s neck was safe, nothing bad could happen there, Waverly knew she could say anything to the sanctuary of the pale skin and she’d be okay. And that knowledge? It filled her and frightened her and made her feel bold. There was nowhere safer on the planet.

 

“Do you want me to take you back to the Homestead?” Nicole finally asked, pressing a soft kiss to Waverly’s shoulder. Waverly shook her head fiercely against Nicole and squeezed her arms tighter around the officer’s back.

 

“Want to go to my place then? Pizza? _Battlestar Galactica_? Idiot, man-hating, cat?”

 

This time Waverly nodded, breathing an almost silent “yes” into Nicole’s neck.

 

~*~

 

The Earp Homestead was home in a way that Waverly could not quite understand. It was Wyatt’s house and the land was blessed and cursed and everything in between. The Homestead was in her blood and it was _hers_. Except, it didn’t feel like hers at all anymore. Not with Willa home. The true heir.

 

But Nicole’s apartment was also starting to feel like something to Waverly. Not quite home in the way the Homestead was home, but comfortable, welcoming. It was _hers_ in a way too. In a way that wasn’t connected to the Earp legacy or Wynonna or her father’s blood in the dirt.

 

She liked to feel surrounded by Nicole and her things. The picture frames on the walls full of stranger’s faces, faces that shared Nicole’s smile or her auburn hair. Waverly liked to look at the bookshelf and run her fingers over the titles. She liked the mismatched collection of coffee mugs and the plaid blanket over the couch. She liked the way it was warm and comfortable and the way Nicole seemed to fit so well into this space.

 

They sat huddled together under the blanket, their pizza long forgotten, and it wasn’t until the fourth episode of _Battlestar_ that Nicole turned her face from the TV to look at Waverly.

 

“We should probably change that bandage now,” she said in that soft, airy way she had that made Waverly’s stomach flutter.

 

“I can do it,” Waverly replied, reluctantly removing herself from Nicole’s arm. The officer shook her head though, shooting the youngest Earp a disapproving glare.

 

“Go into the bedroom, I’ll grab the gauze.”

 

Waverly found herself feeling warm suddenly, but she silently obeyed, making her way to the one room in the apartment that she had yet to visit. There was a bed. Obviously. There was a bed. One, very comfortable looking, double bed. And a dresser. With some drawers. More pictures and books. A map. But mostly, that bed. With the very soft looking navy comforter that Waverly just had to touch. She gingerly sat down and then fiddled with the bottom of her shirt. Was she supposed to take this off? Was that too forward? Would Nicole dig the scar? Or was it gross? And wow, she was in Nicole Haught’s bedroom and she was about to take her shirt off and this was so not how she pictured this moment…

 

“Okay, Ms. Earp, lie down, Doctor’s orders!” Nicole reappeared in the doorway carrying a variety of medical supplies. If she was nervous, she didn’t show it as she swaggered towards Waverly with that intoxicating confidence she seemed to exude.

 

“Shirt off, Doctor Haught?”

 

Waverly was pleased to see a sudden blush rise up Nicole’s throat, but the officer held her gaze and Waverly decided to show off some confidence of her own. She made to raise her shirt, imaging this all looked sexy, when the sudden movement of her arm pulled the wound and instead she found herself yelping in pain and caught in her shirt. Nicole was there, Waverly could feel rather than see her, and with soft hands against her forearms, the shirt was carefully pulled from her head.

 

“That went a lot better in my head,” Waverly mumbled, but Nicole said nothing, just helped Waverly lie down. She quickly removed the old bandage before lifting a piece of gauze covered in antiseptic ointment.

 

“This might hurt,” she said, pressing the material to Waverly’s side, and when Waverly hissed, she was almost certain that Nicole whispered, “sorry baby” under her breath. _Baby_. Waverly smiled through the pain, suddenly very aware of the situation. She had no shirt on. And she was lying on Nicole’s bed. And Nicole was touching her. And this was kind of awesome in a very strange way.

 

When the new bandage was on, when it had been taped and carefully placed, Waverly reached for Nicole’s arm and pulled a little.

 

“I hope you dig scars.” Waverly raised one eyebrow and tried to smirk, but it all quickly turned into a hard gulp when Nicole looked down at the wound and licked her lips.

 

“Oh, I dig. All of it.”

 

“I’ve been a very good patient,” Waverly whispered and Nicole nodded before leaning down, gently brushing her lips against Waverly’s. They kissed softly, languidly, until Nicole shifted position, slowly straddling Waverly’s hips as she moved her mouth down to kiss a prominent set of collarbones. Waverly’s hands found Nicole’s back and she loosely set her hands over a broad set of shoulders, enjoying the feel of Nicole’s lips against her skin.

 

The rookie cop was careful, agonizingly so, pressing kisses to Waverly’s sternum, around the white material of the bandage, and then further down, over Waverly’s ribs, across her stomach, and then softly, so softly, above Waverly’s belly button.

 

Waverly felt herself gasping beneath Nicole, she was amazed by how right this woman felt, how warm this was, how safe this was. She let her hands drift to play in Nicole’s hair and suddenly Willa and Wynonna disappeared. There was just Nicole. And there was her. And there was this room. Nicole kept her hands firmly pressed against the bed, balancing so she could continue kissing Waverly’s torso and it wasn’t until Waverly reached for her shoulders and pulled Nicole back up that they returned to kissing each other.

 

“Hey, Wave?” Nicole asked, pushing herself forward to hover over Waverly.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What you said at the hospital before, about you losing Wynonna, what did you mean?”

 

Waverly could feel herself frowning, she could feel the tears come again, but she sniffed loudly and squared her jaw. For her part, Nicole just lowered herself to Waverly’s side and never let go over her body. She held her and pressed a kiss to her temple, waiting for the young woman to speak or not speak, giving Waverly the space to do what she needed to do.

 

“I can’t really tell you what’s happening.”

 

“Do you not trust me?”

 

“Nicole, of course I do!” Waverly turned onto her side so she could face Nicole. They were nearly forehead-to-forehead, cuddled in the middle of the bed.

 

“Then what is it?”

 

“Earp…things?”

 

Nicole sighed loudly and shook her head.

 

“There’s a lot of Earp _things_ that just don’t make sense and I…I’m trying to respect your family business Waverly, but…”

 

“I need to keep you safe,” Waverly blurted suddenly, letting her fingers drift against Nicole’s cheek.

 

“What do you…”

 

“My family? We’re not safe. And I can’t explain yet. Someday I will, but I just…I need you to be safe, Nicole.”

 

“And what about me? What about what I need?” Nicole’s voice was low and her eyes darted away from Waverly. She was blushing again. Waverly liked it.

 

“What do you need?”

 

“Nothing can happen to you, okay? I don’t want to scare you or move too fast or say something weird, but…for a second today I imagined that you were hurt or worse and I just…nothing can happen to you, Waverly Earp.”

 

Waverly tucked her head beneath Nicole’s chin and held the woman next to her tightly.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered into Nicole’s throat, brushing her nose against the smooth skin.

 

“For what?”

 

“For making me feel like I come first. Like you’d always choose me.”

 

“Hey,” Nicole pulled back slightly to place a kiss on Waverly’s forehead. “Of course you come first. And hell yes I will always choose you. Have you seen your butt?”

 

“Nicole Haught!” Laughing felt good. After all the fear and the heartache of the day, laughing against this beautiful woman felt like everything she had ever wanted. She’d have to go back to the Homestead eventually. It called to her, a siren song. But for now? Nicole Haught wanted her and cared about her. And it felt good, more than good, to feel adored.

 

~*~

 

It was later, much later, when Waverly heard her phone buzz. The room was dark and she was dressed in an oversized t-shirt of some sports team she’d never heard of. Nicole was pressed into her back, her face warm and comfortable between Waverly’s shoulder blades and one pale arm had wrapped itself around Waverly’s middle, Nicole’s hand lay close the wound, as if she was trying to provide protection as they both slept.

 

Still, the phone wouldn’t stop buzzing until Waverly dealt with it, so she reached forward, hoping Nicole wouldn’t wake up.

 

_Wynonna 1:03: Waves, are you okay? I’m really worried. Text me back._

_Wynonna 1:05: Seriously. Waves._

_Wynonna 1:13: WAAAAAAVES_.

 

_Wynonna 1:25: Baby Girl, please. Are you okay?_

 

With a smile on her face and a sudden sensation of relief, Waverly breathed easy. Her sister cared. And Nicole was there with her. And maybe tomorrow would be a better day.

 

_Waverly 1:27: Never better :)_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. On this truly dark day, a little queer fluff just felt right. Ladies kissing and touching and loving. We need more of it in this world.
> 
> As always, if you like what you read please, PLEASE, leave a comment! 
> 
> I'm taking WayHaught prompts on tumblr so leave me an ask (or if you just want to talk about the fic(s)/my AU hit me up as well).
> 
> Find me on twitter (@DameSavage77) or tumblr (@WrackWonder).


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